Heat control apparatus



Feb 16 1943-v H. T. KUCERA y HEAT CONTROL APrARATUs original Filed Des.28, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet l n gj A PC5516, 1943. H 1 KUCERA 2,311,236

HEAT ONTROL 1\.1IEA1'U\.'J.USl

original Filed Deo. 28, 1935 3 sheets-sheet 2 v 303 .auf vm7 .ma A 1 pMoran cmcui'r Feb. 16, 1943. H. T. KUcl-:RA

HEAT CONTROL APPARATUS Qriginzll ,Filed Dec. 28, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 3Patented Feb. 1,6, 1.19.43

UNITED As'ra'rras ,PATENT z OFFICE 1 y Y Y Y maar oonz'i'zlrranarus n y.I

p henry T. Kucera, La Grange, Ill. f original appuation December 2s,1935,. serial No.'

57,449. Divided and this application Novemberv 11941, serai No. 418,130

' 7 claim. (c1. zas-46) This application is a division ot myco-pendin'gv 57,449, illed December 28, Patent No. 2,271,651,

application Serial No'. 1935, whichhas'become dated February 3, v1942. p

My present invention relates tothe provision of heat control mechanismwhich is applic-ablev to the control of the means for generating thelheat, or .tc the vcontrol of the/circulation vof a heating medium.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide an improved temperaturecontrol device which will secure -periodicjfunctioning of the heatingapparatus, the number of periods and the length andy 5'2, insulatedfromy each other,a shift/able Y contact device 53 brought intoengagement alternately 'with one or the other of the twoconducting areas5i or 52 on the drum as the drum l revolves, means 54 controlled byoutside teirlper-l Y ature`for controlling the position of the shiftablecontact device 53 with respectto the drum, ad-

A ditional manually controlled means 55 for conthereof being regulatedby an element respon-'- Y sive to temperaturechanges, and to combinewith such a control manual adjustment 'which will adapt the temperatureresponsive control to the of the premises.

improved apparatus for controlling the supply presence or absence of sunor wind, 'or other gen-' eral conditions affecting' the heatrequirements ,2.0 Afurther object of my invention is to provide of heatto a plurality of different regions, each l to Abeheated in accordancewith variations in out'- side temperature and inaccordance with theythermal requirements and characteristics. V

'Further objects and advantages of the inven-j tion will be apparentfromthe description and claims. y

In the drawing Figure 1 isa front elevational view showings.v

form of control apparatus embodying my-invention; f y f Fig. 2 isa yFig. 3 isa' section on therline 3-3 of (Fig. l;` Fig. 4 is a perspectiveview of the control cam 0fFig.1;`

v Fig. 5 is a side viewof theca'm;r

Fig. 6 is a plan view of another form of cam which may be'used;

Fig. '1 is a side view of the cam shown in Fig. 6; Fig. 8 is a wiringdiagram' for the circuit of FIE- 1;

Fig. 9 isa front elevational view showing a double-drum controlapparatus for controlling the section on the line 2-2 vof Fig. 1;'

trolling the position o1' the movable' contactldevice 53 with respecttothe drum; yavstatio'nary contact device 55l engagingthe left-handconducting `area 52 `oi'rthe 1, a stationary Vcontact under the controlofthe control 'drum 49, in lanother-position disconnects the heat supplycontrol from the drum control and -placesit in on condition, and in 'athird position disconnects the heat supplycontrol means from the controlof the control drum and places it in o condition, a manually operableswitch 62 for starting and stopping the electric clock mechanism, atransformer 62a'for providing current of the desired characteristics,rand a pilot light63 which, when illuminated, indicates that the heatsupply is on and, when not illuminated,- indicates that'the heat supplyif ofi. Y l ,Y y Y The outside thermostatic control apparatus for.controlling the position of the contact with respect to the drumcomprises an expansible and contractible chamberk 64*L whichV maybe ofthe Sylphon type'containing a liquid or gas aiected l by changes inoutside temperature by means o! a heat supply for two-diiferent regionsto be heated; and v Fig. 10 is a diagrammatic view showing a heatingsystem embodying my invention. f The apparatus of Figs.`1 to 8, incl.,will now be described. It comprises a. rotatable time-controlled,circuit-controlling drum 49, driven bya clock mechanism which may beactuated bya synchronous motor or may be spring wound, the drum beingprovided with two conducting areas conduitiSV connecting it with a bulb66 located at a point where it is subject to outdoor temperatu're, acoil coxnpression'spring 61 opposing the expansive `Aaction of the fluidin the chamber, a plunger rod 'having a swivel connection with thereciprocable head 69 ofthis expansible chamber, a manually operable handwhee1'1li for Veffecting'the swivelling orlrotating movement of thisplunger 68, a cam `1| (Fig. 4) having a co noidal surface and iixedly--secured with respect to said plunger 68, and a lever 12pivota1lymounted at 13 carrying on its lower end the spring contact'device 53 andhaving on its upper end-a fol lower 14 engaging the conoidalsurface ofthe cam drum, as viewed'in FigV device 51 engaging theright-hand contactarea of the drum, a relay 58' of the adjustable hand wheel 10, enablingthe hand wheel to lbe adjusted without exerting undue torsion on theexpansible chamber and without causing excessive -friction opposingmovement of the hand wheel. A suitable yspring 1s is provided forholding the fouowei-n in engagement with the cam surface.

The reciprocable plunger 68 may be slidably 'but non-rotatablyassociated with respect to the hand..

wheel by providing the plunger with a squared portion 19 (Fig. VIl)slidably engaging-a squared aperture in the hand wheel 10 so that thehand wheel does n interfere Vwith the up-and-down movement of ried bythe lower end of theplunger. wheel 11-0 maybe held against downwardmovementin any. suitable manner-as by engagement of'its hubr19a withthecross support 19h.

The action of the relay 58, with respect to the motor circuit .is suchthatr when the shiftable contact `53 isin` engagement with theright-.hand conducting area 5i of thedrum, .as .viewed in ligs.` 1' andv8,"the heatv supply will .be on and e plunger rod 58,; but so that thehand wheel vcanbe usedto eie'ctia rotary rnove-l ment ofv theplungerqrod and, of thecam 1| car-'-rv The hand such that. when theshiftable contact 53 is in engagement with the lefthand conductingarea.. 52 lof the drum, as viewed in Figs. land 8, the heat supplycontrol will be ofi. Withthis construction, itfwill be seen that ingeneral movement of: theA shiftable contact device 53 `to the right, as'viewed-inFig. 1, will increasethe length of the'fon* periodso the heatsupply controly means and w-ill decrease the length of the oil periods'fand-"vice versa, movement the leftA ofthe contactdevice will decreasethe length of the'fon". periods and-increasethe length of the oifperiods.l This, ofcourse, is due to theout line or shape of the twoconducting areas which are -insulated fromeach-other. The design fofthe' apparatus issuchf'that as shown in Fig. ll, la low temperature willcause a contraction ofthe expansible chamber 64, causing 'a rise in theco noidal cam'm'ember'H, tending to shift the.fol-"`v lower memberf1l'to theV left andlf-the contact member 53'to'the righttoincre'ase'the lengthK of theI on periods' and :decreasethe lengthofthe off periods, thus increasing theheat supply to take care ofthe-lowtemperature. Conversely, a jhigh'temperature-will expandthe chamber6l',- p'ushing the -c'am memberdownvand allowing the spring 18 topull-the lcontact member 53 to the left-'to' shorten the length of -theon periods and increase 'the length of .theoff periods to take-careof-fthe higher outside temperature. However, as `previously-pointedout,f'the control by'outside .temperature isnot .suiilcient izo-takecare of othervariations and conditionsgsuch as cloudiness,fhigh wind,humidity, variation` in building vccupany,"-etcgmand a further manualcontrol may be'exercised by means' of the ad-v justable hand Awheel 10which -can be-operated torswivel the plunger rod 68 and bring adifferent element of :the conoidal surface into cooperative relationwithrespect tothe follower; Various designs for thesurface of-this'cammay be employed. ..That shown irrFigs...l, 4, and 5 comprises agenerally .conoidalsurface I0, `the 'inthe axis of the cam havedifferent degrees of angularity with respect to the axis of the cam.Thus, in Fig. 5, the left-hand side of the conoidal surface shown has anangle of approximately degrees with respect to .the axis of the cam,whereas the right-hand side of the conoidal surface has an angle withrespect to the axis of the cam of approximately t20 degrees. angularityof the'intersection of the axial planes may be made to vary graduallyfrom the greater. tothe lesser angle.

Because of this construction-, the radial distance of the follower 14from the axis of the cam will be changed as the plunger'rod 68 visturned by means of the hand wheel, thus changingthe position'of thecontact withA respectto the drum. It will be seen that a changev ofradial distance will take place regardless of `the vertical position ofthe cam determined by the thermostatic control but that theamount ofchange of said radial displace- -ment for a given turning movement ofthe cam will .increase-as the outside .temperature decreases. `It mayalso be seen that the rate of change of the radial distance for a givenvertical movementwill vary with the angular position of thecam.

By means` of thismanual control of the cam, an attendant can superimposea manual con-` trol on the thermostatic control to take care of unusualvconditions, such. as high winds', cloudiness, excessive humidity,increase in heating load, etc., which would cause a requirement for moreheat than would be furnished'under the normal from the axis of thecamwill be increased, thus' shifting the contact device tothe right, asviewed in Fig. l, to increase the length of the "heat on periods anddecrease. the' length of the heat oil periods Qn the other hand, ifconditions are such that less than the normal supply of` heat.isnecessary-such vas .might be occasioned by a very jsunshiny quiet day,vor over a week' end when a lowerv maintained temperature is desired,the attendant, by means of the hand wheel 10, may rotate the. cam toaposition which will decrease the radial distance of the follower fromthe axis of the cam, resulting in a shift' ofthe contact 53 to the left,as viewed in Fig-1,v

with a consequent decrease in the heat supply. At the new angularpositions of the cam, should there be alv variation of temperatureoutdoors,

the radial `distancerwill be` varied accordingly` "with the rate ofvariance greater than normal in the ilrst case and less Vthannormal inthe second casef; g v

rThe heat supply vcontrol meansv arethus subject to three controls-(1)the time control eilected-by'the time-controlledmovement of therotatable-drum k49 (this-enables various'desirable -results tolbeaccomplished, suchjas a daily program, including a morningheating-111)".pe--' riod,j a ,day-time controlled period,Y and a nfnight-oil' period); (2)..the outside temperature of whichthevattendan1t'-V can superimpose a vcontersections of which with differentplanes through The .Y

` ply.. 4Zin Fig.' 9 is shown apparatusv subject to theV Common movementbetween pairs or Oppbsed'anti trol n tliethermostatic control to takecare of unusualfjconditions; ysuch "was clcudiness; high'f wind,leiicessive, liumidity, e

r For `ease o f' operation, the manually'-bperable hand"' wheel l 0maybe made .'.to project' throughv an openinglinthe front of the casing.Suitable indica tingl means may be ,rirovidel cn or 'adjaf cent theWhand wheel to 'indicatelthe' direction in which the lhand wheelshouldibeftrned and thev extent'lloi 'the movement ,necessary to effectthefdesired increase or decrease in the heat sup-r three controlstimecontrol, [outside temp'erature control and attendantontrolviorcontrolling the heat supply for a pluralityjof rdifferent regio` to beheated,'js uch`as different parts' or zones Al r art and the scope of'the appended -"claims.

essere.

scribed, that shown diagrammatically correspondingtotheconstruction'shown in- Fig.'il.

'- may be o ffbuilding which may` havedifferent thermal`char'acteristics'4 orf may 'b'e subject todifieren@ uses,` or ,such'asanumber of different;buildir'igs.A

The apparatusemploys a 'common outsvidetemy-v peratu're -control'. a,common transformerA and` a time 'control'for the different' regio'nsInthis apparatus a plurality o f drums 49'jare employedJ-one for each'different regione-also* a plurality of relays 58 contIQlled byth|`sdruins and aplu'rallty'oithree-way switches 6| neifor` each ,ofAtheA The outside temperstureV control 'apparatus is 'in general the sameas that disclosed'- in connection' with Fig.'v 1 end 'will' not bedescribed 'in further detail.' "lhefrelayfap#A paratus 58,'tr'ansformer62a, timefcontrolled clock Thebranchrisers 300 lead from the maincondiat 'aus 'ce-the radiators through shut-eff valves.

301, '.Eaen ofthe radiators. may be provided with-.en alrvalve 308 topermit vthe escape ofentrained ai'F while maintaining vthe steamwith# intheradiators.V If desired, air valves may also be installed on'thebranch risers and on the main conduits. The condensation from theradiators returned to the boiler through conduit :'Furtherimodiflcationswill be apparent to those skilled the arty and Vit is desired,therefore, that the invention 'be limited only by the prior l:In'a'heat'lng system for heating a-plurality offz'ones, eachhavingradia'ting units, electrical. ly controlled means individual toeach ofrsaid zones' for' alternately admitting and checkingthe.l

l rtlowjo'f heating "medium: tothe radiating units mechanisrnf andthreewayyswitches Stare also substantiallyas disclosed in-connection'with Fig. 1. The drums V49 may. placed in vr axialalignmentland may all be driven from the same clock mechanism 50. TheAangular po'ljsition or the several drums 49 relativejto thexdrumvshaft50c may be such that'the heating'"periodsof no two'v zones start'orendLat thesame time.' staggering of the :operation helps to balancethe/load on the heat generating plant.

` In one form the movable contacts |01 ferbom of thedrums's'hown in Fig.9 are mounted on'a' common reciprocable ,bar |0f0, the 'position ofwhich isv Vcontrolled b y'thejcairrfcontrolled lever r |09, vvlfiichhas,'apin' "and slot connection,*with the sliding bar l08, as shown atfl I0.Thisre-f c'ipro'cable bar .|08` may be'mounted for ease of i -frictionrollers The shiftable" contacts |01 are mounted for independentadjustment longitu'di` nally of the reciprocable bar. This adjustment is'effected by means of a racl; I2 secured to the reciprocableibar 'and .apinion I3: meshing with said'Y out f phase relationship.

thereL'in cycles offa ilxed p redetermined-lfre' quency,f with theperiods of checking for one zone` outv of Vphase with respect to suchperiods- 2; vvIn a heating'sys'tem for heatingja'plurality of zones,eachhaving -radiating.units, electrically 'controlled means indivldualtoeach ci said zones for alternately admitting andfchecking the thereof,lincycles of y a iixedpredetermined fre'- quency, with-the periods ofchecking for one zone out of phasewith respect to ysuch periods foranother 'zone'v orfzones, a thermostat.- subf ject to the prevailingtemperature variations external to thelf'zonesI to 'be heated by thesystem,A ym'eans' controlled by said thermostatforauto?maticall'y'varying the proportion of elapsed time occupied by saidperiods of checking, to an ex-` tent, for'all said zones, depending'onsaid prethis racl and rotatablymounted Qn the carriage i of theshiftable Yc o'ritact A' thumb` button'k I. maybe providedfor turning`the pinion It to effect"longitudinal adjustment of the contact |0`llwith respect to the reciprocable bar.

In Fig. Y10 is shown a steam heating system controlled by one of theforms of apparatus previously described, which apparatus embodies thethree controls-time, outside temperature andA manual control. This showsa` one-pipe system of steam heating in which a boiler 30| is providedhaving means 302 for controlling the steam pressure, the extent of thepressure being regulable? by adjusting t-he weights 30241 on the- Jeverarm 30212. Steam is distributed to the radiators 303 through the mainconduit 304. conduit 304 is located an' automatically operated'shut-off' valve .305 "controlled by the triple control regulator 305a,=which may b in general similar to the. control apparatusgpreviously de`-vaill'ngtemperature variations,while maintain.- ing A--sa'idpredetermined .frequency,V and said out of phase." relationship-,1 andmanually adjustable means individualy to each zone for also varyingthefproportionof elapsed time occupiedv by said periods' of checkingforeach zone,- duringlzthe continuance of `the utomatic variations.

El; 'Apparatus for distributing steamy to a steam heating system havinga plurality of groups of radiators for serving respectively variouszones of the structures to be heated, a source of steam, conduitsrunning `respectively from said source to each of said groups, anelectrically controlled -valvein each of said conduits, time controlledmeans for intermittently operating said valves to check theow of steamfrom said source to the conduits for each of said groups respectively AIn this main at substantially interspaced intervals, said timecontrolled means including a .continuously rotatable circuit controllingdevice, the effective l contour of said device varying at differentportions thereof, contact means individual to each' ofsaid valves"respectively, the contact means vcorresponding t'o each valverespectively being jHaving thusdescribed' my invention, whatI- claimand'desire to secure. by Letters Patent ls:l

arranged to be energized byrea'son of u the action or said ydevic'e whenthe latter lsf'in `differentr angular positions,vto cause theinterspacing of said intervals, thermostatic means subject totemperature variations outside the spaces heated by the system, and',means controlled by said thermostatic means upon variation of theoutside temperature for selecting-sections of Ysaid device which are tobe-eiective to control said contact means.

4. In aheat'transfer system for transferring heat with respect tol aplurality of zones, each having heat 'transfer units, means individualto eachfof said zones for alternately admitting and checking the flow ofheat transfer medium to the heattransfer units thereof, in cycles of afixed predetermined frequency, with the periods of checkingfor onezone-v out of phase with respect to such periods for another zone orzones, thermostatic means subject'to-the prevailing temperaturevariations external to salid zones, and

Aeach of said zones for alternately admitting and checking theilow ofheat `transfer' mediumto thevheat transfer units thereof, in cycles of afixed predetermined frequency,` with the periods of checking foronezoneout of phase with respect to such periods for. anotherzone or zones,a thermostat subject to the prevailing temperature variations lexternalto said zones, means controlled by said thermostatfor automaticallyvarying the proportion of elapsed time occupied by said periods ofchecking, to an extent, for all said zones, depending on said prevailingtemperature variations, while maintaining said predetermined frequency,and said out of phase relationship; and theproportion of elapsed timeoccupied by said periods of checking for each zone,

during the continuance of the automatic variations.

- 6. In' a heattransfer system for transferring heat with respect to a`plurality of zones, each having heat transfer units, means individualto each of said zones for alternately admitting and checking the now ofheat transfer medium to the heat transfer unitsithereof, in cycles of afixed predetermined frequency, kwith thev periods. of checking for onezone outof phase with respect to such periods for another zone or zones,thermostatic means'subiectto'thefprevailing temperature lvariationsexternal to said zones, and means controlled by said thermostatic meansfor automatically v'varying the proportion of elapsed time occupied bysaid periods of checking, to anA extent, for all said zones, dependingon'saidprevailing temperature variations, while maintaining saidpredetermined frequency, and said out of phase relationship, said timecontrolled means including a continuously rotatable circuitcontrolling-device, the effective contour oi' said device varying atdifferent portions thereof, a plurality `of circuit vcontacts forcontrolling4 said valvesl respectively, each c said contacts beingarranged to be energized respectively by reason of the action of saiddevice when the latter is in different angular positions, to cause theinterspacing of said intervals, `and meansfor'adjusting the position ofsaid contacts individually 'in respect to said device to alter theeffective contour of the device acting to control each contact and tothereby vary thev intervals of energization of said contacts,

'7'. In -a. heat transfer system for transferring heat wlthrespectto aplurality of zones, each having heat transfer units, means individual toeach of said zones for alternately admitting' and checking the flow.A ofheat transfer medium to the'heatl transfer units thereof, in cycles of afixed predetermined frequency, with the periods of checking'for one zoneout of phase with respect to such periodsi'or another'zone orzones,thermostatic means subject to the prevailing 'temperature variationsexternal to said zones,

and means controlled by said thermostatic means for automaticallyvarying the proportion of elapsed time occupied by said periods ofchecking, to an extent, for allsaid zones, depending on said prevailingtemperature variations, while maintaining said predetermined frequency,and said out of phase relationship, said time controlled means includinga continuously rotatable. circuit controlling'device, the effectivecontour of said device varying at different portions thereof, contactmeans individual to each of said valvesv respectively, the contact meanscorre-I sponding toeach valve respectively being arranged to beenergized by reason of the action of said device when the latter is indifferentv angular positions, to cause the interspacing of saidintervals, said thermostatic means including members subject totemperature variations outside the spaces heated by the system, andmeans controlled by said thermostatic means upon variation of theoutside temperature for selecting sections of said device which are tobe effective to control said contact means. Y

HENRY T. KUCERA.

